


Destiny Denied, Future Reclaimed

by LadyKF



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Feels, GFY, Gift Fic, M/M, Multi, Romance, death only not, where did this plot come from?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-04
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2017-12-16 14:31:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/863088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKF/pseuds/LadyKF
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He'd always be there, one way or another, even if he had to defy the very nature of his existence. The Planet would just have to wait.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chasing Hopes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [evil-robot-cat @ Tumblr](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=evil-robot-cat+%40+Tumblr), [EvilRobotCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilRobotCat/gifts).



> So, quick note. [ ] = Vincent and { } = Chaos --- yes, they're still together, yes it's post-DoC, no, it's not quite canon but _we like them this way._ Also largely inspired by evil-robot-cat's artwork.  <3
> 
> Also, I'm not quite sure what happened at the end? My attempts at crack always do this. Something plottish sneaks in. And _feels,_ oh the _FEELS!_

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If there was anything Chaos and Vincent agreed on, it was that they wish Reeve would be more careful.

It was a common misconception that Vincent Valentine didn't talk much. Given the opportunity, Chaos would assure them that the former Turk's mind never stopped, and he had a constant running commentary on _everything_. He just didn't say it _out loud._

[ _"It's nothing big,"_ he says.] There was the ominous sound of Cerberus being readied and shot off, too unwieldy for a traditional sniper but just fine for a former Turk who happened to have enhanced sight on top of legendary skills as a gunman before said enhancements. The collection of mindless beasts went down with little difficulty, particularly given the most recent experiences with Deepground. It was more that there were so _many_ of them that was a problem.

[ _"I can handle it, I have Cait!"_ he says.] Vincent darted through the area, leaving a trail of the beasts dead behind him, crimson eyes overbright with emotion.

[ _"I'll be right back, just stay there" -_ two hours ago. That was two _hours_ ago!] He seethed, gauntlet shredding through whatever it was that came flying at him. Strange creatures with too many teeth, making strange sounds and biting at things. _Him._

_Reeve..._

{A little less angst and a little more moving, Valentine,} Chaos rumbled, displeased with being stuck in the 'backseat' as usual.

[I didn't ask you to come back,] he snapped, worry making him even less patient with his counterpart than usual. [Believe me, Chaos, I can do this just fine without you.]

The WEAPON made a disgruntled sound and forcibly shoved their collective senses towards where he could sense Reeve. Alive. Worried - nearly frantic. {Just go. The engineer is close.}

At least they were of one mind with that; Vincent would be concerned later, but right now he was much more worried about getting in to see Reeve. The creatures seemed to be coming from this direction, and he could hear the sounds of some sort of machine... a periodic _boom_ that made the ground tremble and made him think that he might have upgraded from rocket launchers, which was both a good idea and incredibly worrisome on _so many levels._ "Reeve?"

"Oh dear..." The sound was muffled, and sweeping in he could only see a very large, rather boxy machine that vaguely reminded him of an oven.

{What in the Summon's hell is _that?_ } Chaos demanded, focusing on the machine. {Get closer.}

[A _little more concerned_ with Reeve at the moment.] Red eyes kept scanning, getting increasingly worried with each moment and no sign of him.

The machine lurched, and the booming sound made him flinch into the collar of his mantle, heightened senses protesting. Still, he kept his eyes open, and they widened in horror as the door to the machine shuddered, letting out a tumble of the creatures through the sides. At first they were almost amorphous, not quite fully shaped and not quite solid - dark, wispy things that came out like writhing tendrils of smoke but quickly grew into the bizarre creatures he'd fought earlier.

[It's _making them_.] He loaded Cerberus, snapping it out to figure out a way to stop the creatures long enough to get close and disable the machine. What was this _doing_ in Reeve's workshop? Yes, the man was rather eccentric, but making _monsters?_ That just... wasn't like him at all.

{This reeks of ill thought, coffee fueled midnight ideas.} Chaos growled. {Let me out. You can't stop them fast enough.}

Another shudder heralded further production on the way and he had to reluctantly concede to his point, giving his form over to Chaos. Whatever had driven the WEAPON to return and share a body with him, it was enough to actually believe that he had no immediate intention of harming anyone that _he_ found important.

Given control, Chaos flicked his wrist, changing Cerberus to the five barrel beast he considered worthy of wielding and launched towards the machine with a powerful beat of his wings. Aiming carefully, he shot for the hinges of the door, planning to get a stronger attack at the insides when he could examine it to destroy it from the more vulnerable inner mechanisms.

Having a certain brunet suddenly pop up, entirely too close to the path of the bullets, made him feel sick with a sudden shot of fear and he pressed his speed to his limit, rocketing forward and grabbing him roughly. Reeve said something - some protest - but he was a bit too busy shielding him as the door was blown off in a shower of sparks and shards of burning metal. With the adrenaline of the moment, he had no idea if anything hit him, too busy waiting for the sounds to stop.

There was a _roar,_ and it shook the building to its foundations. Turning to peer over his wing, he bared fangs in a soundless hiss of anger - whatever was in there, it was _not_ going to come out and wreck further havoc.

"Chaos? Chaos, _wait -_ "

A hand on his arm. He shook it off, voice rough. "Stay here, human."

"You don't _understand -_ "

" _Stay here._ " That time, Valentine's voice echoed through his, thick with emotion that promptly shut the younger man up, if only for a moment in shock.

It was enough, and wings spread wide again as he flew back around, readying his attack.

The _last thing_ he expected to see was a large black and white cat staring at him with brown eyes - almost hazel with a moment of something he didn't understand - hooked to quite a lot of wires and tubes, many going directly into its head.

The eyes flashed again and the cat - to be honest, it was looking quite a lot like a much larger version of Cait the more they observed it - shuddered. Something made that booming sound, which echoed through the machine, amplified. It was almost painfully loud, but the sudden presence of so many dark, increasingly more visible, more _physical_ blobs of dark color appeared, turning into the bizarre creatures he'd fought earlier.

The moment was surreal.

" _Vincent!_ " Reeve popped up behind him, shoving at one of the wings as it flared out to protect him. "Chaos, stop. It's not... he's not dangerous, it's just -"

"It's spawning _monsters,_ Reeve!"

"It's not what it looks like!" He protested. "Just... there's a cord. Around the back, into the back of his head. Just get it out. Don't... don't _kill_ him."

They gave him a measuring look, frustrated that the pleading tone had decided it well before they grunted in acknowledgement, darting in and around, fighting off the shadowy things in an effort to make it back to where the cord was supposed to be. Finding it, a dark brow arched at the thickness - it seemed much more complex than 'a cord' but it was a relatively easy thing to get the guard around it unlatched and pull it out.

There was a strange sensation, like a giant vacuum sucking the air out of the machine, and the monsters were suddenly _gone._

Wary, the WEAPON walked back around, blinking to find Reeve running to him and patting him down. "Engineer -"

"Thank you - I'm sorry, that wasn't... I hadn't _expected..._ " He was apparently distracted by something, all the moreso when his touch was over something raw and painful, a glance showing a metal shard embedded in his wing. " _Chaos,_ I'm sorry. Just... here, come sit. Let me see."

"It's fine." He growled at the forceful tug, the intent behind it more effective than the actual physical gesture, and reluctantly followed. With injuries to his wing and some burning sensations along his cheek, thigh and arm, he supposed changing back to Valentine wasn't a wise decision. The former Turk seemed to reluctantly agree. "Tuesti, what _was_ that?"

Reeve fumbled with his emergency kit, words a bit too rushed. "Just an experimental effort. It's a bit hard to explain. It's a rather untested field; really, I was in no danger -"

"By the Planet, are you _insane?_ Did you see what those monsters did to _me?_ To _Valentine?_ " He growled. "You are far more fragile. These reckless experiments on your own need to _stop_ before you get yourself _killed._ "

"Chaos, _I_ was in no danger." He repeated. "There's not a scratch on me. _That_ is why I didn't call you."

Gold eyes flickered to him, looking him over carefully. It was true, unbelievably. "They didn't harm you, despite being everywhere, and clearly hostile to us. I don't understand."

"It wasn't personal, I assure you. Just a miscalculation." He patched him up carefully, frowning until it made little furrows in his brow. Chaos rather hated those, the reminders the man was not as young as he had once been. Despite his host's beliefs, he'd not come back for any grand purpose. In fact, it was a simple, selfish desire.

"What _was_ it?" He pressed, not liking the quick look that went back to the broken machine, a hint of guilt and discouragement flickering over his features. "Tuesti."

"It... it was a failure." There was something in Reeve's tone that forbade further questions for now. Sighing, he let himself be tended to the WRO head's satisfaction, trying to gauge his emotions.

Mortal 'feelings' were not his forte even on the best of days. Given his only near first-hand experiences were sharing _Vincent Valentine's_ mind and memories, he thought he'd done incredibly well. It was a bit frustrating that even the admittedly conflicted gunman was still better at it than he was, but this had the feeling of importance to it. Sighing in frustration, he nudged Valentine to take control again and let him _think._

Reeve made a startled sound at the change, but otherwise didn't miss a beat; a few final scrapes to his cheekbone and forearm were all that was necessary to take care of before he took a step back to give him space. "I'm sorry you were hurt, Vincent. And more than that, that you were so worried."

"I'm getting used to it," he muttered, eyeing him speculatively. "Reeve, whatever this is... I can tell it's important to you. But, be careful. You're more important."

The increasingly quiet words leading up to the final halting admission made him smile, a strange mix of sadness and happiness. "Thank you. I'll keep it in mind."

Uncomfortable, he simply nodded, adjusting his mantle and looking around. "What needs done, before you can leave?"

"I just need to put the program to a... sort of sleep mode." He shrugged. "Just a moment. We're still on for lunch?"

"Hn." He nodded slightly and watched him go, frowning. [He's up to something.]

{Clearly.} Chaos muttered. {And highly invested in it. It bears watching. Perhaps the little thief may know something.}

The idea had merit, given Yuffie _did_ work with Reeve regularly. [We'll look into it.]

 

* * *

 

Inside the machine, Reeve knelt by the larger form of his dearest feline companion, resting a hand on one paw and sighing as the padded fingers twitched weakly in an effort to curl around his. "We'll get it right. I _know_ it."

Dark eyes looked up, turning briefly to a warm brown, a perfect match to the man kneeling before him. His accent was softer, voice a bit deeper. "I know we will, Reeve. It'll be alright. Go on t' them."

The engineer nodded, undoing a few buttons on his jacket and carefully removing the monitor that had been attached to his chest, skin pinkened by all the tiny needles that had kept it fixed in place, monitoring his responses. He pressed the small buttons, watching brown eyes turn back to black, and patted the hand. "Rest well, my friend. And... thank you."

The feline inclined its head, looking a bit weary despite not currently having the facial structure to fully pull it off, and let his hand go. "Go on, now. Git. They need some good company, y'know. It's not good for them t' be alone. I'll jus' nap a wee bit."

Reeve chuckled softly, nodding. "No, I have no plans to leave them alone. Ever."

Rising, he made the needles retract and carefully pocketed the monitor in a small case he kept with him. Squaring his shoulders, he smiled brightly at the thought of a few hours of coaxing Vincent and Chaos into something resembling social interaction. It was good for them - even Yuffie had noticed, and she wasn't always the most insightful when it came to Vincent's subtleties. But it would take years and years to just undo the damage done to him, let alone build faith in humanity again.

They all had their demons, but they didn't have to fight them alone. Vincent had always been there, in his own way, to help with his, after all.

" _Vincent!_ There was a lovely little place on the other side of Edge. Interested?"

He earned a look of fond amusement, and _knew_ there was a smile hidden behind the red fabric.

It could take a lifetime - and then some - to get him back to where he needed to be.

Reeve looked forward to the challenge.


	2. Death Defying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reeve had a lot of plans for the future, and he wasn't about to let mortality get in the way of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd thought that this was done at first, but it demanded I add something to make it more finished. What better day to do it than as a birthday present to the original recipient, [EvilRobotCat](http://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilRobotCat)?
> 
> Fair warning, ride through the first half of feels, okay? The summary is truth.

Reeve lived a long, very active life, outliving even a couple of the other AVALANCHE members. But he'd started slowing down in his eighties, and by his nineties he mostly stayed at home. Through it all, Vincent and Chaos were at his side.

It hurt, watching him age when they weren't. It looked like Cloud _might_ be aging fractionally, but there was no sign Vincent had at all; Chaos wouldn't have been able to pass until the Planet itself did. They'd always known time with Reeve would have a limit, but it only made every moment more precious. The ache of sitting there in his bedroom while the others said their goodbyes was immense, but it would have been worse not to be there.

Thick brown hair had gone white with age and thinned to wispy remains, lean muscle and a healthy tan just a memory in the frail body that was just a shade above the sheets he lay in. His eyes were still bright and sharp, his mind staying blessedly clear, but it was obvious time was short.

Chaos could _feel_ how short it was, shooing the others out. Shelke was staying in the building, and neither he nor Vincent had the energy to spare to argue it. They would stay so long as Reeve did… but that time was coming to a close.

"You've got that look, when you hate something," Reeve murmured, reaching for them. Thin fingers curled around Vincent's, a small smile on Reeve's lips. "It's coming, isn't it?"

"Soon." They'd learned to blend voices and presences - a fairness that Vincent eventually found himself unwilling to deny the Weapon he shared form with. It wasn't necessarily any lesser a pain shared, but it was… something, to have someone understand the grief. "Chaos will see you off."

"He doesn't need to do that." Reeve smiled slightly, light pressure offered for a squeeze of his hand. "I'd give you forever. You know that."

"I do know," Vincent agreed softly. "But he'll make sure you're… taken care of."

"I'm not done _yet,_ mister," Reeve huffed, but his smile faded a little. "I'm aware of my own energy, you know. I may not have your senses, but I told you… I know a thing or two myself."

Vincent nodded slightly at that. "I'll watch Cait, after."

{Very soon, Valentine,} Chaos warned softly, inhuman gaze watching the wispy energy waning, losing its hold on failing mortal flesh. {He won't last to nightfall. Say what you need to.}

[… thank you.] It hurt to know, but at least he had these last moments, and not waking from rare sleep to find them missed. Even knowing that, he hadn't slept in more than stolen snatches for over a month, and only while Chaos was active instead, putting his unasked-for reserves of energy to their full use. "I won't forget you, Reeve. You've… made all the difference to me."

"I wasn't _done_ ," Reeve murmured, thumb rubbing slowly over his knuckles. "I love you both, you know. Stubborn things."

"You've said," Vincent managed, a huff of a laugh holding no real mirth. "We tried. I love you too… we both do."

"He's watching me, hm?" Reeve sighed, blinking slowly. "I'm stubborn too, you know."

"I do know." He brushed Reeve's hair back gently, bare handed to offer him what little warmth and realness he could. Somehow, with Reeve, the paleness and the scars didn't matter near so much as the contact. He just regretted it had taken so long to understand that, when every moment was infinitely precious and so unfairly short in the face of the future they would have without him. "But it's alright. You don't need to fight this."

"I was never that great a fighter," Reeve said, smiling tiredly. "Cait wasn't either, bless his little furry self. He'll help you, when this is over."

Vincent made a quiet sound of agreement, the best he could do and hopefully what Reeve needed to hear. Little white lies, perhaps… but assuming Cait did continue to live on without Reeve, he'd keep close watch over him. He was the closest thing Reeve had to a child, after all, and loved just as dearly. "Do you want me to get him?"

"No, he has his own things he's doing now," Reeve murmured, voice getting quieter as he blinked again, slow and less focused. "I love you both. Be good to each other. I don't want… you two to fight…."

His lashes fluttered, and he went still.

Vincent swore his heart stopped, a lurching feeling ending with a ball of iron weighing in his gut as he gently squeezed Reeve's hand. Tears flowed freely, but he kept silent, trying to see if he could feel anything of what Chaos was doing. He'd tried to explain the process before, how he'd make sure Reeve merged properly into the Lifestream and everything, it just…

{He's _gone._ }

The utter _shock_ in Chaos' voice was the first hint something was wrong. "What do you mean _gone?_ He's dead…"

{His _soul,_ Valentine, it's _gone._ } More than shock now, something like fear and reflexive _anger_ that something could have gone wrong.

"Vincent? Chaos?" Cait peered into the room around the corner of the doorway, tail lashing behind him. "Ye need ta come see this."

"Cait, now isn't a good time…" Vincent managed, pressing a hand to his head against the pain of Chaos roaring his grief, panting shallowly a moment against the impulse to transform. "Chaos, _stop,_ not here for gods' sakes!"

"Vincent, it's _important,_ " Cait insisted, edging into the room. "An' it might help."

"Not _now_ ," he hissed, shuddering and lurching to his feet, staggering away from Reeve's body so he didn't have to look and fighting to keep his composure with the addition of pain and outrage from Chaos.

"But-"

"Vincent?" Reeve's voice managed to cut through the haze, coming from the computer screen that had been moved in, so Reeve could stream movies or visit with others from his bed. The monitor flicked to life, showing an image of a much younger man, easily back to his prime, around the time he'd become the commissioner of the WRO. "Vincent? Chaos? Look at me, please?"

Vincent was struck dumb, staring, and Chaos surged to the forefront, his eyes flashing gold. "What deceit is this?"

"No deceit, I wouldn't hurt you that way." The image - Reeve - held his hands up slowly, offering a tentative smile. "I told you, I'm a very stubborn man. And I know a thing or two about energy. Just… well, not quite enough to be so certain I'd promise you. If I was wrong… I couldn't get your hopes up. You've been let down too much… please take your hand off your gun, that's not nearly as sexy when you've been crying."

Chaos gripped Cerberus even tighter, lips curled in a soundless snarl. "What _is_ this? You're _gone._ "

"Not gone, Chaos, just… not where you expect me to be," Reeve explained slowly. "Feel. You know my energy, maybe better than I do. Go find it, see for yourself."

Chaos hesitated a moment longer, but began to calm, tentatively stretching his senses.

_{There_. _}_

Below, several floors. Rooms Reeve hadn't been in for ages, where Cait stayed most often. Sometimes Shelke, Vincent could confirm that much; he didn't pay much attention to the little Tsviet other than to note her affection and loyalty to Reeve.

"I…" he looked back to the body, where Reeve had been. And then he'd died and… "I don't understand."

Reeve laughed weakly, running a hand back through his hair. "I'm an Inspire, Chaos. I bring things to life."

"But you're not… not you," he pointed out what seemed obvious, gesturing back.

"I can't tell you how unnerving that sight is," Reeve admitted, looking _very_ briefly at the peaceful body in the bed. "I'm… well, I'm not complete. I'm projecting through the system, since you were panicking. I'm going to need a little surgery, but I'll explain it all. Just… come downstairs, alright? Where you feel me. I'll explain everything."

"I…" Chaos faltered, and Vincent wrenched control back.

For a moment, the former Turk stood still, breathing hard, then nodded. Chaos' senses had latched on to Reeve's energy like a beacon, and he was able to make short work of the distance. It was a massive workroom, with a large, boxy enclosure like a smaller room inside it. The doors were open, giving him a flashback to a time when Reeve had a peculiar device set up to a very large Cait Sith… but this was not one of his felines. The figure within was, to all appearances, Reeve himself, again in his prime. " _Reeve?_ What… what have you done?"

Another monitor flicked on beside the body, and Reeve was peering at them. "Well, I moved the bulk of my spirit there. Did you know that the human brain is remarkably like a computer? Parallels had been drawn before, of course, and then there was what happened around the whole fiasco with Deepground… I may not be a biologist, but I'll be damned if _Hojo_ could do something with computers I couldn't."

"You… what, uploaded yourself?" He asked, incredulous but starting to believe that maybe he hadn't lost his mind after all. This was just the sort of madness Reeve _would_ do. "You're…"

"Alive. Just… different." He shrugged. "The body's alive, it's been waiting. Shelke has been alerted, she'll come by soon - Cait notified her. I had a couple chips that will need removed from my old body, but then they should help get this one in sync, if you will… Vincent, please look at me. Er, the me here looking at you. You're worrying me."

" _I'm_ worrying…" Vincent huffed a laugh, shaking his head. "Reeve, what you've done…"

"I couldn't _leave_ you two." Reeve looked at him softly, with a depth of tenderness that had only deepened over time. "Besides, I've told you a hundred times - being human is overrated."

"So you've moved your soul to a…" Vincent wasn't even sure what he was looking at.

"Cyborg, I think is the more accurate term. Lifestream is as organic as it gets, after all," Reeve pointed out. "I made a lot of progress over the years, it should be fully functional and I can work on myself more once Shelke has moved the anchor points. I just haven't been able to work on it personally for quite some time."

He nodded slowly, still trying to take it in, Chaos just as overwhelmed. "You had a… very large cat…"

"Your memory never ceases to impress, yes I did." Reeve nodded, flickering over to another monitor so he could see Vincent's face better. "Practice. Seeing if it was even viable… I could transfer some thoughts, but they kept taking amorphous shapes that were awfully temperamental and then they started getting twisted by my frustration… anyway, I can't inhabit two bodies at once, though - or couldn't so long as the one of them was the one that just, ah… expired."

"Died."

"That too, trying not to think about it. Dying is traumatic even if someone didn't shoot you, you know," Reeve defended, crossing his arms. "So. There's this now and I'll be in it once the surgery's done. It's a bit of a waiting game until then, but I made it this far so it's entirely reasonable to think it's a success. And I'm much less fragile this time, so hopefully I'll be able to keep up a little better. We've got an eternity to figure it out, don't we?"

It was those words, so deceptively casual despite the way that Reeve was watching him so closely, that made it all suddenly click.

Reeve had died, yes, but he wasn't _gone._ Wasn't dead - _refused_ to stay dead - and… and…. "You're staying."

"Of course." Whatever Reeve saw in him then made him finally smile, wide and warm. "You're not getting rid of me that easy, Vincent. And don't think you're getting away just because you're being quiet, Chaos. You two are going to have me around a very, very long time indeed."

"You're _insane,_ " Chaos managed, a sentiment Vincent shared, with all the awe he was feeling as well.

Reeve grinned. "I love you too."


End file.
